E3 2017: First Look at Bathurst in Gran Turismo Sport

Plus fresh insight from GT creator Kazunori Yamauchi.

By
Luke Reilly

Gran Turismo Sport developer Polyphony Digital revealed the inclusion of Australia’s Mount Panorama circuit in GT Sport earlier this week (via a very brief glimpse of the track in a new trailer Sony debuted prior to its E3 presentation) but we now have a pair of new videos showcasing the track in full.

Mount Panorama, more commonly known as Bathurst, was previously featured in Gran Turismo 6.

Gran Turismo Sport will feature a total of 27 tracks across 15 locations, from real-world circuits to fictional racetracks. A complete list of tracks is not available at this stage but the roster so far includes Brands Hatch, Willow Springs, and the Nürburgring Nordschleife alongside Bathurst, plus several fantasy tracks.

It is also a track that has unique and beautiful scenery around it, equal to that of Le Mans or Monaco.

Polyphony Digital CEO and original GT creator Kazunori Yamauchi spoke with IGN about the inclusion of Mount Panorama in GT Sport.

“Mount Panorama is one of the few circuits in the world that caters to the driver, being fun to drive with lots of ups and downs much like the Nürburgring,” said Yamauchi.

“It is also a track that has unique and beautiful scenery around it, equal to that of Le Mans or Monaco. This is the reason why I decided to include Mount Panorama in Gran Turismo.”

It’s a popular track these days, appearing in the Forza Motorsport series, the Project CARS series, Grid Autosport, and several others, but Yamauchi is confident in Polyphony Digital’s version of the circuit.

“The difference from other titles regarding Mount Panorama also means the difference of Gran Turismo Sport as a whole from other titles,” he said. “And the difference of Gran Turismo Sport and other titles is very simple: it’s the quality.”

“We aim to achieve the highest quality in the world, consistently throughout the game from its visuals, physics, and all parts involving its large variety of features.”

The real Mount Panorama, which is actually a public road, currently hosts four events annually, including the Bathurst 12-Hour and the Bathurst 1000 (Australia’s marquee local racing event). Fans of the latter may be disappointed to learn that no V8 Supercars have snuck into the GT Sport roster but, according to Yamauchi, that should change “eventually.”

“The organisers of the V8 Supercars and Gran Turismo have maintained a good relationship from quite some time in the past, and there’s no doubt that they will eventually be included in Gran Turismo when the time is right,” he said.

Gran Turismo Sport doesn’t have a release date yet but is scheduled to arrive at some point between late-September and December.

In a recent interview with GTPlanet Yamauchi ruled out an open beta after the current closed beta wraps up but admitted the team would like run another brief beta in August with all of the game’s planned features.

Luke is Games Editor at IGN's Sydney office. You can find him on Twitter @MrLukeReilly.